Conch shells in Maui?

[kat.hayes]

Anyone know of anywhere that you can either find or buy conch shells in Maui

Thanks.

[ccrom30]

i saw conch shells at a number of "outdoor flea market" type of operations. there is a very big flea market in kahalui (forget which day of the week) there is also a craft fair in lahaina by the police station, i believe that is on sat's. there is also one on the main drag in kehei, i think that is daily.
that being said...they are not cheap. i don't know if it is legal to take them out of the water anymore.

[rgbmatt]

Well, the "conch shells" you'd find for sale on Maui are not local - either they are large helmet shells (Cassis cornuta) imported from the Philippines, or queen conchs imported from the Caribbean. Kind of puts a damper on the whole thing, doesn't it?

Helmet shells (the closest thing we have to a "conch") aren't uncommon in flat, sandy areas, where they roam around looking for urchins to eat. As it stands, it's not illegal to take them, nor are they particularly rare. But, if everybody who came to Hawaii went out looking for a "conch" and picked one up, they'd surely become scarce in short order. Also, if you take a live one it's very difficult to get the meat out without either wrecking the shell or stinking up the entire neighborhood. Now and then you'll find a nice dead one, but to do that you'd have to spend hours roaming around in sand with little else to see. As such, I don't think taking one would be advisable.